A Life-bound Spirit Treasure was a rare weapon that could be enhanced even after its creation. Su Min had chosen this weapon, along with the skills that matched it, to make the early stages easier. Otherwise, with her meager talent and abilities, life would've been pure torment. Now, it was time to finally put her preparations to good use.
As Niu Ma lunged forward, a flash of light sliced through the darkness. Even the lowest-grade spiritual weapon was still a spiritual weapon. Ordinary items couldn't possibly block it. The net split apart like paper, and Niu Ma's body followed, cleanly severed at the waist. The cut was so swift and precise that, for a moment, Niu Ma didn't even realize what had happened. He only felt his legs give out before his upper half crashed to the ground.
"Aaaah!!!"
A miserable scream tore through the midnight sky, stunning the gang of thugs who had come with him. Just moments ago, their leader had been alive and well. How had he suddenly been cut in half? Everyone knew that a waist-level cut wasn't instantly fatal. You still had enough time to drag yourself along the ground and use your own blood to scrawl a giant "tragic" character before dying.
"Well?"
Before they could snap out of their shock, Su Min spun her sword with a graceful flourish and casually licked her lips. Her already delicate face, illuminated by the faint light, now seemed wickedly alluring and dangerously deadly. "Who's next?"
"Witch!" someone shrieked. Then, like rats fleeing a sinking ship, the entire mob scattered, leaving only Niu Ma's twitching corpse behind.
"Ugh."
Watching the people disappear completely, the sword in Su Min's hand turned into a stream of light and vanished. She dropped to her knees and retched twice. The feeling was far too overwhelming.
"Can't stay here. I've got zero cultivation. Manifesting that spirit weapon just now already pushed my limits. I'd better find somewhere safe first." Forcing a spiritual weapon without qi reserves was reckless. If those thugs had called her bluff, she'd have been doomed. Scaring them off had been the best outcome possible.
As the saying went, "Keep the green hills, and you'll never run out of firewood."
First, she needed to find a safe place to recover and maybe comprehend a cultivation technique. Before long, only the two halves of Niu Ma's corpse remained in the ravine, quickly drawing swarms of insects.
"Damn it... can't... run... anymore..."
Soon, Su Min stumbled into a dilapidated temple deep in the mountains, panting and disheveled. She was wearing an expensive silk long dress, completely unsuited for running through rugged terrain.
"Since there's a panel, what about a backpack? I remember there should be some beginner items inside, and they're free. Also, once dawn breaks, that brothel will definitely start reacting."
Looking at her delicate, soft hands, Su Min let out a bitter chuckle. She recalled what those thugs had shouted earlier—"Witch." It seemed she was about to experience a medieval witch hunt firsthand.
As she focused her thoughts, a crisp chime echoed in her ears.
However, instead of an inventory screen opening before her, a pitch-black, gleaming ring dropped out of thin air and landed by her feet.
"Space ring?"
Bending down curiously, she picked up the ring and slipped it onto her finger. The moment her thoughts touched it, the contents inside appeared before her eyes:
Practical outfits (Goodbye, ruined noble robes)
Bigu dan (No hunger for days)
Alchemy & Artifice Manual (Crafting 101)
Herb & Ore Compendium (Forage like a pro)
"Nice."
Without hesitation, Su Min pulled out one of the outfits. She stripped off her torn silk robe, which had been shredded by branches during her escape, and quickly changed.
"This feels much better. This set even looks like night gear, actually."
After stretching a bit, she found the new clothes far more comfortable and flexible.
"And my skill... I remember that when I first entered the game, I was supposed to be able to comprehend one cultivation method."
Popping a bigu dan into her mouth, Su Min felt her stomach settle. With that, she wouldn't have to worry about food for at least a day or two. It was time to focus on breaking through. Only with some cultivation could she truly protect herself. Settling down cross-legged, she opened her system panel and reviewed the available skills.
Closing her eyes, she let herself be guided by instinct. The "Heavenly Dao Insight" activated. Darkness enveloped her, and countless floating scripture fragments swirled in the void, each one a potential technique.
"So this is my innate skill. Those characters must each represent a different cultivation method."
She glanced around at the pitch-black surroundings and at her now translucent hands. Somehow, she knew instinctively that each character contained vast amounts of information. She only needed to choose one.
"Trust instinct. Don't force it."
Her ethereal hand brushed across a cluster of glowing characters.
BOOM.
Knowledge flooded her mind:
[Everlasting Spring Art / Changchun Gong (Incomplete)]
The longer cultivated, the greater its effects.
"I finally have a cultivation method. I need to start immediately!"
Without opening her eyes, Su Min began to slowly guide her inner energy according to the instructions of the Changchun Gong. She desperately needed to take that first step, the first true step on the road to immortality.
---
Meanwhile, in Yu City's Chunhong Brothel...
"She's a witch! A witch!" The thugs who had fled were now screaming at a middle-aged woman.
The woman was tall, nearly one point eight meters, and powerfully built, with thick, ropy muscles. Just a glance was enough to make grown men instinctively tremble.
She was the madam of Chunhong Brothel. Under her management, the courtesans were so thoroughly disciplined that they would obediently fulfill any request a customer made.
"A bunch of useless trash. You let her get away, didn't you?"
The madam sneered coldly at the trembling thugs. She knew exactly how weak that little girl was. If she'd been there herself, she could have subdued her with one hand. The girl had only arrived today, and the madam hadn't yet had time to "train" her properly. Give her a week, and the girl would've been eating out of her palm.
"It's true! If you don't believe us, we can go look! The body's still there! She killed Niu Ma!"
"Hmm?"
The madam narrowed her eyes at the panicking thugs. Normally, these men were unruly and fearless, but their terror didn't seem fake. Her expression darkened, and she turned sharply to head deeper into the courtyard.